Friday, March 24, 2017

Windham archeological dig placed on hold by Stephen Signor

It
was just a couple of weeks ago that Maine State Head Archeologist, Leith Smith
held a talk at the Windham Public Library, to introduce folks to the art of
digging and reviewing the results of the project at Richmond Fort. Recently on
March 18, a second talk was held to present the progress of the dig that has
been taking place over the last two summers at Fort Province, located on the
property of the Parson Smith House on 93 River Road.

Scissors found at Fort Province.

A
standing-room-only crowd showed up to hear a bit of history tracing back to a
time when Windham was known as New Marblehead. For 60 minutes Smith gave a
detailed history of the forts’ need, existence and eventual dismantling.

The
audience was also brought up to speed on when it was decided, through
collaborative efforts, about the forts existence on this site. “In 1979 our
office and the Maine Historical Commission determined that Fort Province was
indeed located at Anderson Hill”, shared Smith. “At that time artifacts were
dug up but it wasn’t clear they were associated with the fort.”

Then
in 1981 another team came back to the site. They were not sure at first either
but then came to the same conclusion. “At
that time it was determined that the fort must be located under that section of
River Road,” Smith continued.

The dig
as it is known today began in 2014. “At the same time MDOT (Maine Department of
Transportation) wanted to improve that area of River Road for safety reasons by
lowering it by four feet. However, archeological criteria were met as shown
from testing, that proved the dig site was eligible to be included on the
National Register and therefore roadwork was halted. What transpired since are
the consequent digs these past two summers - but the time has come for a
temporary suspension of the dig.

But
now because of the extent of work that needs to be done to accommodate the dig,
coupled with additional new plans for River Road by the MDOT, it has been
decided that the dig will not be able to continue this year as scheduled.

In
review, the original plan was to lower River Road at Anderson Hill by four
feet. The strategy was to lower the road one lane at a time reducing through
traffic down to one lane. Once the archeological dig was satisfied, then the
lane would be restored and the process repeated for the opposite lane. Now there
are also additional plans to raise the road further down on the Westbrook and
Windham ends of River Road, rendering Anderson Hill virtually flat. In a
meeting last week with the MHPC (Maine Historical Preservation Commission) a
representative from MDOT was present. “We found out just last week that there
are still things involved with the preparation of River Road. There’s not
enough time for MDOT to get the contracts out to contractors for bidding so it
will be 2018 before we will get a chance to come back,” explained Smith.

A
sense of disappointment could be felt in the room but there was also an
expression of relief. “Sure, I am disappointed but at the same time this will
give me time to focus on the several other projects we have had going at the same
time,” expressed Smith.

Elaine
Dickinson who has resided in the Parson Smith House for 23 years was also
disappointed. “Some people have to go to places like Arizona to visit
archeological sites. All I had to do is walk out my front door.” She will have
to wait until next year but is being positive. “They’ll catch up and we’ll have
something to look forward to,” concluded Dickinson.